


The Incredible Baking Engineer

by ItsaVikingThing



Series: Family Recipes [5]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: A tiny smidge of proto-angst, Asami is bad at baking, But she tries to harness the power of science to save her, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-16 04:59:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14804823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsaVikingThing/pseuds/ItsaVikingThing
Summary: Asami finds Korra in a strange mood one evening, and quickly realises why: the Avatar's 22nd birthday is approaching. She hasn't had much reason to celebrate her birthday the last few years, and that makes Asami determined to make Korra's day as special as it can be. She has everything planned out, except for one thing: a cake.Luckily, Asami is on...mostly good terms with Tosi, the Spirit of Baking, so she's pretty sure that a birthday cake will be easily arranged. But if all else fails, and even if she doesn't seem to have much of a knack for baking, Asami's ready to put all her engineering knowhow to the task of making the perfect cake for Korra!What could possibly go wrong?





	The Incredible Baking Engineer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writerleft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/gifts).



> For [Shannon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft), she of the big ideas, bigger fics, and biggest heart.

It starts, as so many things do, with snuggles.

Asami is sitting up in bed, reading the end of a progress report on the development of a new Satomobile engine. Korra is tucked into her side, her head resting on Asami's chest, and her arm a warm and pleasant weight around Asami's waist. Korra's awake, but she remains quiet while Asami finishes her work. Naga is sprawled at the foot of their bed, her massive head resting on the mattress at Asami's feet, already peacefully asleep.

It's not quite a rare event that Korra and Asami get to fall asleep together, but it's infrequent enough that she feels a little guilty to still be working. Especially since they haven't really said much other than 'hello' since Korra got home. After a few minutes, Asami puts the report on her nightstand, puts her arm around Korra's shoulder, kisses the top of Korra's head, and sinks into her pillow with a sigh.

Korra remains quiet, and that's a little surprising. Usually, once Asami's done with work, Korra's quick to share the details of her day, or promise to lead an assault on Future Industries' head office and drag Asami to the park, or sometimes she simply starts kissing Asami, and that can lead to all manner of things. But tonight, Korra simply holds Asami, saying nothing.

Asami squeezes Korra's shoulder. "Hey, wife-to-be. Tired?"

She should be. She's spent much of her day lifting sunken Fire Nation dreadnaughts from the bottom of Yue Bay. Asami's relationship with Korra is healthy and in a good place, she thinks, but sometimes Asami wonders about her relationship to her awe of Avatar Korra. The woman in her arms--who is currently wearing otter penguin-patterned pyjamas, and who has been known to pout and whine after she's finished her dessert if it looks like Asami won't share any of hers--wields the power to reshape the world.

Which she has, more than once, and always at a price.

"Bit tired," Korra mumbles drowsily. "Bit...bleh, too."

"Tell me about it?" It's an invitation Korra can't always accept, so Asami merely waits, enjoying Korra's warmth, and the sound of Naga's even, rumbling breath. When the silence threatens to last too long, she snuggles in closer, and kisses Korra again. "Tosi has decided to become an architect, which added to today's fun. I think the bakery is getting there--I thought we might be able to open in a few weeks--but, after taking an interest in the refit, Tosi has been sniffing at all the plans. Literally sniffing at them, and declaring them 'unworthy!' Modifications have been called for, which means delays, and..." Asami sighs. "It was a terrible idea, opening a bakery with Tosi, whoever's idea it was. Pretty sure it was yours."

That gets a response, as Asami hoped it would. 

"Oh, no you don't, Sato! That one's on you!" Korra raises her head, and even if it's faint, Asami's relieved to see that her lopsided smile is in place. "It was a good idea, too." She squeezes Asami's waist. "A really good one."

"Yeah...easy for you to say. You haven't had to guide Tosi through buying and outfitting the buidling, _Baker_ Korra."

"That's only because I have no money, no understanding of how to acquire property, and...I, uh, sometimes forget how to even spell 'business.' Three esses seems like too few, y'know? You're the expert at that stuff, I'd just be in the way."

"You're never in the way. But I admit...I sometimes wish Tosi thought _I_ was an expert. At anything."

Korra chuckles. "You're still an amateur potter, then?"

"I haven't really had time to make more ceramics, so I'm still an amateur potter. And now I'm an amateur business owner. _And_ amateur architect."

"That must sting, you being such a perfectionist and all."

Asami huffs in almost entirely feigned indignation. "I am not a perfectionist, I just like things to be done a particular way! A way that is...as flawless as possible given the circumstances and available materials."

That makes Korra laugh outright. She raises her head enough to kiss Asami's cheek. "Oh, okay! That's completely different from what I said. And I'm sure your pride isn't even slightly injured over this."

Asami's cheeks heat up. She quickly looks down, and is relieved to see Korra isn't watching her blush. "My pride is entirely healthy, thank you. My patience with the Spirit of Baking is fraying a little, though."

Korra nods against her chest. "I'll swing by when I can, talk to Tosi. Maybe try to explain what it means to be the CEO of--and one of the principal designers at--the world's biggest engineering company."

"Thanks." Asami sighs. "There's no real rush, though. I know you've got a lot on, too."

At first, she thinks Korra isn't going to respond. But, just as Asami's beginning to think about lying down and giving up on consciousness, Korra says, "They tore down the old Pro-Bending arena."

Asami blinks her eyes open, shaking her head. "What? Today?"

"No, sometime last month. I just heard about it, though. I got a letter, asking me to attend the opening of the new arena. And I thought...there's a new one? I swung by the old site, and it's just...gone. New housing is going up, apparently, which is good, but...I didn't even know."

"Oh." Asami tightens her grip on Korra. "Do you want to go? To the opening, I mean. I can arrange time off...?"

Korra burrows in closer to Asami. "I don't know. I don't know how I feel about it all. It's dumb, but so much happened there, good and bad, that really helped me...start figuring myself out. I didn't know it was damaged by the colossus, let alone that it was being demolished! Now it's gone, and..." She breaks off, takes a frustrated breath, and sighs it out again. "It's not a big deal, but...it got to me. Got me thinking about the last time I was there. Almost four years ago...and that got me thinking about everything that's happened since, and what's, uh, coming up and, well...not that anything _important_ is coming up...again...but, uh...it got me thinking." Korra pauses. When she speaks again, her voice is wry. "And you know how dangerous _that_ can be, when I start thinking about things."

Asami thinks she's beginning to understand what's really bothering Korra, but she isn't sure that talking about it now will help. So she kisses her again, and says, "Hmm, Korra thinking? No...no, I can't say I'm familiar with that process."

"Hey, now!" Korra lifts her head, her look of outrage belied by the grin tugging at her lips. "I'm great at thinking! I have so many thoughts about, uh...things and...stuff. I think so hard sometimes, I pass out from the effort!"

"Is that why I find you napping so often?"

"Whoah! Uncalled for, Sato!" Korra pokes Asami in the ribs. "Like _you're_ such a genius!" 

Asami raises an eyebrow and waits, smirking.

Korra huffs. "I mean, okay, sure, you are in fact a world-renowned and noted _actual_ genius, but! How smart can you be when you can't even manage to bake fire-cinnamon snaps that snap, huh?" Korra pauses, her brow wrinkling. "I mean, even the burned ones were soggy, somehow. Which is sort of genius, I guess...but definitely an evil sort of genius."

"Good thing I gave up on baking, then," Asami says, her entirely healthy pride not smarting in the slightest. "Not that I had much choice...

"That spirit has a funny way of showing it sometimes, or...all the time, but Tosi loves you really!" Suddenly, Korra kisses her, robbing Asami of the power to think about anything other than Korra. She pulls away much too soon, but she's smiling, and she's calm. "Not as much as I love you, because no one does." Korra props herself up so she can puff out her chest. "And I know this, because I've checked in both worlds!"

Asami laughs. "Well, I, ah...appreciate your dedication!"

"Just trying to be a good wife-to-be." Korra smiles shyly. "And I...appreciate you putting up with me being dumb about missing a place I hadn't even set foot in in...nearly four years."

Korra shudders slightly.

"You weren't being dumb. It's not dumb at all." Asami bites her lip, thinking hard. "Four years? Well, I think I have an idea about that."

"Huh? Not that there's anything wrong with ideas, but I don't think anyone needs to have ideas about anything that, uh, is maybe happening soon...actually, never mind!"

"Oh, don't worry. I was just talking about my latest stroke of genius," Asami says, archly. "Needs a bit more work before I can tell you about it, but...I think you'll like it!"

"Oh, yeah?" Korra's smile slowly fades, but the look in her eye is far from an unhappy one. "Hmm, you know, I think I like _you_."

Asami doesn't point out that Korra already went considerably farther than that a minute ago, nor does she point out that she needs to sleep. She's much too busy kissing the woman she loves for any of that sort of pointless talk.

Much later, when Korra's asleep in her arms, Asami gives some more thought to her latest genius idea. She gently kisses the back of Korra's head, and whispers, "I'll make sure you get a happy birthday this year, wife-to-be."

* * *

Asami meets Opal for lunch a few days later. After an exchange of pleasantries and mutual excitement about their impending nuptials, Asami tells Opal what she's planning.

"A party for Korra's birthday?" Opal smiles. "Sounds fun! When is it?"

"Next week. You know, I didn't know when it was? I had to ask Tenzin. I almost let it go by. I've known her all these years, but I've never had a chance to celebrate her birthday." Asami sighs, staring into her teacup. "I was thinking about all the other things in Korra's life I've missed out on because of...well, uh-"

Opal puts her hand over Asami's. "I get it. And I'm in, of course! Though, uh, I hate to say it, but...trying to ensure a whole night off for Korra on short notice might be a bit of a challenge." She wrinkles her nose. "You'd think taking Kuvira down would make things _less_ crazy, but...nope. Who knew fixing a city, dealing with the huge spike in gang activity, dismantling Kuvira's empire, and changing the Earth Kingdom's political system would take so much work?"

"Hmm." Asami purses her lips. "I'm going to say...everyone? Well, everyone who's been paying attention to...anything. Those people knew."

"That was both a rhetorical _and_ a sarcastic question, Asami. How could you?" Asami opens her mouth, but Opal quickly cuts her off. "Agh! Stop. Also rhetorical!"

Asami laughs. "Well, I was thinking the Republic City Police Force could handle one night without the Avatar's assistance. I was hoping you could convince Lin to take the night off, too."

"Uh, I don't think that'll be possible. Aunt Lin's been grumbling about the RCPD's overtime funds being cancelled by our beloved president. She's been working round the clock to try to pick up the slack. She says it's not even a budget thing, just Raiko's attempt to make her less popular and force her out as police chief. It's an election year next year, after all..."

"I know. Kya's been complaining about Lin's work schedule lately." Asami sips some tea. "But that shouldn't be a problem."

Opal blinks. "It...shouldn't?"

"It's the first time I'm ever getting to celebrate Korra's birthday," Asami replies levelly. "I don't intend to leave anything to chance."

"Asami, did you...actually, I have no idea what you might have done. Tell me what you did?"

"I just...reminded Raiko of the calculable value of Future Industries' assistance in saving and rebuilding the city."

"Don't you mean the _incalculable_ value?"

"No," Asami says, permitting herself a smile. "I mean I calculated the _exact_ value of the machinery, expertise, and labour we've provided the government since Kuvira's attack on the city. And what we've pledged for the next year, in spite of my board not being on board with it. And I showed Raiko the numbers: exactly how much the city's been saving, and will save...during an election year. If his administration and Future Industries remain in close partnership, that is. Then I suggested he find a way to free up the funds needed for overtime for the RCPD."

Opal's eyes widen. "Ooooh, I wish I'd been there. His _face_!"

Asami grins. "That part was almost as fun as doing the math!"

"Riiiight." Opal snorts, shaking her head. Her expression grows thoughtful. "You're really serious about this party, huh?"

Asami hesitates. She _is_ serious about this. Her conversation with Korra the other night has been on her mind almost constantly. Korra has seemed more cheerful the past few days, but Asami believes she's dreading the approach of her birthday.

"I think...maybe Korra needs something like this. All those years isolated in that compound...then everything that's happened since she came to Republic City...spirits, she deserves to be celebrated!"

"That she does," Opal says, firmly. "So what do you need from me?"

Asami whips out her notebook and checks her party notes. "Well, I've spoken to Tenzin about hosting on Air Temple Island, and he agreed. I was wondering if you could handle invitations? I have a list."

Opal nods, accepting the piece of paper Asami passes to her. "Can and will do! Anything else?"

"Let's see..." Asami flips through some pages in her pad. "I've arranged for food from Zeki's Fusion Palace. We never got to eat last time we were there, and they've finally reopened the kitchen after all the repairs! So...I'm having them bring all their staff and the whole menu, because Korra will want to try everything."

"Wow!" Opal rubs her jaw. "Okay, yeah, Asami-"

"Moving on, I couldn't decide on music..."

"Oh! I could maybe help with that! There's a great band called The Shrieking Buffalo-Canaries. They do some really romantic numbers, and-"

"Yeah, I hired them. And all the other bands I've ever had recommended to me. I'm having barges brought in for them to set up on, so that people can sample different music on different parts of the island. I'll have a few on the island, too, of course. I just need to organise a schedule to rotate them in and out, so that Korra can hear as many as possible and decide which she likes best."

Opal gapes at her. "You're going to do...all that, huh?"

"Hmm, and of course I'll be having fresh flowers shipped over in the afternoon. I'll be airlifting in seating and a proper dance floor, too, in case Korra wants to dance. Tea, wine, fruit juices...oh, and obviously I've got Satomobiles, ferries, and a couple of airships arranged for bringing people in and getting them home again." Asami produces a pencil and looks keenly at Opal. "Is there anything else you can think of?"

"Um...are you saving anything for the wedding...?" Opal smiles nervously. "It sounds like you're going pretty all out, you know?"

"I just want everything to be as good as it can be!" Asami flushes. "Is it...too much, do you think?"

"I don't..." Opal rubs her neck. "Maybe? Korra might want something...lower key?"

"Right." Asami groans. "You're right. I...can cancel some of the bands? Maybe...I don't need flowers from a dozen florists? I could go with ten?"

"Let me take care of that for you." Opal gently plucks the pad from Asami's hand. "I'll, uh, look through this and make a few...dozen cancellations. I think as long as the people she loves are there, Korra will be happy. Though, um, yeah. All the food Zeki can provide sounds sensible!"

Asami chuckles weakly, then freezes. "Oh, spirits! I forgot something!"

"I'm not sure that's possible," Opal mutters, looking through Asami's notebook in mounting horror.

"A cake! There needs to be a cake!"

Opal snorts. "Oh, come on! You sort of live with the Spirit of Baking. Cake's going to be the easy part!"

* * *

When she gets home that evening, Asami finds the apartment empty. The apartment she shares with Korra has spirit vines in two rooms. One is rendered unusable by a huge vine that takes up most of the space. The other is the kitchen, and if anything the kitchen is functional _because of_ the vines. Where the floor, ceiling, fittings, and furnishings had been damaged by Kuvira's colossus, spirit vines now act to repair or replace hinges, a table leg, the back of a chair, the top of an entire work surface, and sections of the floor.

All of this was the work of Tosi, the Spirit of Baking, who shares the kitchen space with Korra and Asami. Just as the rest of the apartment can be reached through the kitchen door, Tosi's realm in the spirit world can be reached through the vines in what Tosi calls the realm of Kitchen.

She gets changed, then she goes into the kitchen. She stands near the oven and clears her throat. "Tosi? I need your help."

An instant later, the Spirit of Baking appears in the middle of Kitchen. Tosi is a roughly humanoid being, possessed of four arms and a head like an armadillo-dog's. Tosi wears a shimmering white coat, and though the spirit is an inch or two shorter than Asami, they wear a glowing white crown that adds a foot to their height.

Tosi considers her gravely, sniffing suspiciously at the air.

Asami sighs. "I didn't bring any new plates, Tosi."

"Yes," Tosi grunts, relaxing slightly. "Though you are learning to properly appreciate a finer aesthetic sensibility in the decoration of ceramics, Amateur Potter Asami, there is still work to be done. But perhaps..." Tosi folds three arms and, with the hand of the fourth, rubs thoughtfully at the underside of their muzzle. "Yes, perhaps a shopping trip could be permitted. Under strict supervision. Yes, I will accompany you, to protect you from the perils of unworthy ceramics and inelegant designs. We will also take Supreme Good Girl Naga for walkies!"

"Well...uh, thanks for the offer?" Asami shakes herself, and plasters on a smile. "That's not what I need to talk to you about right now, though. I was actually hoping you could make a cake for Korra's birthday!"

One of Tosi's ears twitches. Tosi's lips peel back, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth. "Impossible."

"What? Why, though? I thought you'd be--"

"Ignorant Amateur Potter Asami!" Tosi snarls, pacing back and forth across the kitchen, arms waving in agitation. "To travel back through time to the moment of Korra's birth is beyond my powers. It is beyond the powers of all the spirits!"

Asami's smile cracks slightly. "No, no! I don't mean--"

"Ah!" Tosi pauses, head tilting. "I see. To deliver a cake at the precise moment the Avatar is born into her next mortal body, then? Difficult, but possible. Though the cake might grow stale before the tiny Avatar is able to appreciate its myriad subtle textures and flavours..." Tosi grunts. "The whims of mortals are strange, but this is an...intriguing challenge. I accept."

"No, that's not...I'd like you to make a cake for next week, that's all! We're going to...wait." Asami's heart begins to pound. "You could locate the next Avatar the moment they're born?"

"Yes." Tosi shrugs. "It would seem pointless to do so, unless it was to facilitate the delivery of a delicious and complex bake. No one has requested such a thing of Tosi, until now."

"No one has requested that of Tosi at all! Although..." Asami pauses, clutching her head. "Spirits!"

"Yes?"

"No, I didn't mean yo...uh, sorry. I just...think that's information I'll need to discuss with Korra at some point. Um, for now could we get back to you making a cake for Korra to celebrate twenty-two years since she was born?"

Tosi's ear twitches. "This seems arbitrary, and thus... _unworthy_."

"It's perfectly normal and entirely worthy! It's a mortal tradition, but Korra has...well, she hasn't always had much reason to celebrate it. I don't think she's looking forward to it, and I want to make sure that, from here on out, she knows how much I-- _we_ love and appreciate her."

Tosi growls, considering. "And you wish to express this with...cake."

"Yes!" Asami considers trying to explain the rest of what she has planned to the spirit, and decides to keep things simple. "It'll be Korra's present!"

Both of Tosi's ears twitch. "Ah. Yes. I understand."

Asami sags with relief. "Good! Good, so we'll need to keep this a secret until Korra's birthday-"

"I will not make this cake," Tosi interrupts, thrusting all four palms outward.

"You won't?" Asami asks stupidly.

"No, Amateur Challenge-Setter Asami. There remains a question of worthiness. You may call me again only when you have a true need." Tosi pauses, sniffing thoughtfully. "Or if you wish to make ceramics in the Oven Of Perpetual Heat And Darkness again. Or if the Supreme Good Girl With The Wagging Tail Of Joy And The Moist Nose Of Wisdom requires walkies."

And with that, Tosi nods, and fades from sight, returning to the Spirit World.

At first, Asami is stunned.

At second, she tries calling Tosi back, but the spirit ignores her.

At third, she clenches her jaw and declares to the empty Kitchen, "Korra's getting that cake."

At fourth, she goes to the lounge and starts making calls. Half an hour later, Asami's tried thirteen different bakeries and received the same answer to her query every time: none of them can deliver a celebratory cake that meets her specifications in time for Korra's birthday.

Asami decides not to bother with the rest. She _could_ ask for Lin's help, but then she'd be revealing that Korra told her about Lin's secret passion for baking, and she doesn't want to be the cause of an argument between the Avatar and the Chief of Republic City's police. And she obviously can't ask Korra to make her own cake.

Which leaves her with only one option.

"I'm a world-renowned and noted _actual_ genius," Asami says, clenching her fists. "How hard can baking really be?"

* * *

Asami's previous forays into baking, under the tutelage of Tosi and Korra, had gone...somewhat awry. Slightly. A bit. But in spite of all the rubbery sponge cakes, spongey pastry, and crunchy jelly, Asami thinks that she just needs a little more practice. She's reluctant to bake in Kitchen, because Tosi is too closely linked to the baking energies there. Instead, she prevails on Opal to allow her to use her and Bolin's kitchen.

Once she has a workspace lined up, Asami attacks the cake problem from the same angle she approaches an engineering project: diligent research, preparation, and rigorous testing.

Research turns out to be tricky, since so many recipes are passed on through family lines, and where they're recorded at all, there is rarely any agreement as to which version is best. Asami's able to find a handful of books and scrolls on the cooking arts, but where she can find recipes and instructions concerning baking, everything is couched in frustratingly vague terms. Measurements of ingredients are given in cups, spoons, and other equally imprecise quantities. No one throughout the written history of baking seems to have bothered to note what temperature their ovens reached, and rather than offering a precise bake time, most instructions suggest that the cake _should_ be ready when it's golden brown on the outside, but nothing is ever guaranteed.

Evidently, baking has been crying out for a more scientific approach for some time, and Asami's preparation phase sees her busy in her workshop, developing formulae and devising tools that, she's confident, will entirely revolutionise the making of baked goods.

The testing phase finds her in Bolin and Opal's kitchen bright and early the day before Korra's birthday, armed with her notebooks, her new-forged instruments of precision baking, a small mountain of ingredients, and a recipe she devised by combining all the least imprecise known variants of a kind of lemon cake she used to eat when she was a child.

Opal, dressed in her airbender wingsuit, lets her in and helps her bring all of her things from her Satomobile into the kitchen. She studies Asami when they're done and the oven's heating. "So...are you going to be okay here? Bolin will be up in a bit, if you need a hand later...maybe you should wait for him?"

Asami waves the offer away. "Don't worry, Opal! I know what I'm doing. I've got everything covered."

"You do have a lot of stuff," Opal says, uncertainly. She pokes at a series of precision-tooled, gleaming metallic cylinders. "Um...what are these?"

Asami smiles confidently. "Ah! Well, a lot of recipes call for a cupful of flour, or two cups of water. But did you know there's no standard in place for the manufacturing of cups in Republic City? Or the Earth Kingdom...or, anywhere. Which means that there's a huge variance between the size of different vessels, which means that the measurements in recipes aren't reliable, and results are going to vary depending on what kitchen you're in and what equipment is available."

Opal edges closer to the door. "Oh, wow! You're...invested in this." Under her breath she mutters something that sounds like, "To a dangerous degree." She quickly adds, in a louder voice, "Sooo these are measuring cups?"

" _Precise_ measuring cups. I crafted them myself, to hold the mean volume of every type of cup I could find and analyse in the city. These represent the new platinum standard of measuring by cups! I did the same thing for spoons, too. I also wrote a simple formula to help me convert the proportions and ratios in the recipes I've been reading. I'll now be able to create the perfect cake, over and over again!"

"Okay...well, uh, good!" Opal bites her lip, nervously considering the array of precision baking tools covering her counter. "You've...practised making the cake, right?"

Asami shakes her head. "I haven't had time, but I've eliminated so many variables, there's not much that can go wrong. I'll have a practice run now, and depending on how that goes, I'll have time to iterate my process and make another cake."

"Yeah..." Opal smiles weakly. "Well, I'm gonna go be a helpful Air Nomad, and nomad all over the city. Helpfully. Have fun, Asami! And don't stress about anything, okay? If, uh, if anything goes wrong..."

"There's nothing to be stressed about," Asami says, smiling as she gives Opal a parting hug. "I've calculated _everything_! I'm ready for this!"

* * *

An hour later, Bolin comes into the kitchen. He grins and says, "Hey, there's my favourite CEO! Okay, I'm ready to help however I...oh, no, _scary_ Asami showed up today."

Asami blinks at him. "What are you talking about...never mind, no time! I have to get this in the oven." She yanks the oven door open and slides a tray with what should be the middle tier of the cake in a ring in the middle. She winces, trying to manoeuvre it into the exact centre of the oven. "Ugh, I need to figure out a way to evenly distribute heat across the entirety of an oven. It's so inefficiently arranged...I can only bake things properly one at a time."

Bolin approaches a discarded layer of sponge and carefully pokes at it. The sponge resists his finger until he applies considerable pressure. "Uh...is this properly baked? Oh, are you baking rock cakes?!"

Asami slams the oven door in a composed and peaceful way. " _No_ , Bolin," she says, very, very calmly. "I am _not_ making rock cakes. And that one isn't...properly baked." Asami casually clenches her teeth. "I forgot to allow for the humidity in the atmosphere. It threw off my calculations." She glares thoughtfully at her sugar-crusted notebook. In an entirely reasonable tone, she adds, "I _suppose_ , now _you're_ here, I'll have to adjust my calculations _again_ because of all that breathing you _insist_ on doing!"

Bolin gulps nervously and begins to sweat, adding another variable to the atmospheric calculations. "Um, okay...maybe step away from the rolling pin and the propelling pencil? There's a good Asami!" He flinches when Asami... _looks_ at him. "D-don't you want to take a nice break and maybe get some of that flour out of your hair?"

"I have flour in my hair?"

"Um...yes. And on your face. And your clothes, and--"

"But...no!" Asami runs a hand through her hair, and finds both flour and egg yolk. "That means my calculations are off! There's an inefficient amount of flour in the cake mix. This is a disaster!"

"It might turn out okay, though?" Bolin ventures closer, smiling nervously. "It's just a little flour! It'll probably be fine, if you don't leave it in the oven too long."

Asami takes a few deep breaths. "Bolin. If an engine is missing some of its components, is it an _okay_ engine?"

"Well, maybe if you..." He looks at Asami's expression, blanches, and hastily says, "Nope, no way! Of course not! Everybody knows that, haha!"

"Exactly. If it's not complete, it's not a functional engine at all!"

Bolin nods sagely, rubbing his chin. "That's...it's not really the same way with cakes, though?"

" _WELL IT SHOULD BE_!" Asami points out. " _IF IT ISN'T, THEN HOW CAN I MAKE A GOOD ENOUGH CAKE FOR KORRA_?"

Bolin dives out into the hall, warily poking his head around the doorframe. "Oh, Opal might be calling for me? Can you hear that? No? Me neither, so I should go where I _can_ hear her! Bye!"

He flees before she can muster a response.

Asami blinks at the rolling pin she's clutching in her white-knuckled fist, groans, and slumps to the floor, leaning her back against the oven. "Why can't it be simple? Why can't there be precise, exact instructions...with diagrams...and easy to follow mathematical expressions defining the limits of how different ingredients interact at the different stages of making a recipe? How am I supposed to _do_ this?"

She's startled when a voice answers her. "Behold!" There's a brief pause, then, "But first move aside, foolish mortal, so that I can cross into this realm, that you might properly behold!"

Asami gasps and scrambles away from the oven, raising her rolling pin. The oven door flies open, and Tosi, the Spirit of Baking, emerges from the heat haze that shimmers out into the kitchen. Tosi raises a hand, snaps its fingers, and the oven slams shut. The spirit glares around the kitchen, sniffing and growling as they consider the mess.

" _T-Tosi_?"

"Behold!" Tosi straightens up, an almost blinding radiance pouring from the spirit's white crown. "I have answered the call, in this moment of your greatest baking peril, Amateur Baker Asami!"

Asami's jaw drops. "Did...you just call _me_ a _baker_?"

"Yes." Tosi prowls around the kitchen, sniffing at one of Asami's precision measuring cups. "This is...good work, _Extremely_ Amateur Baker Asami Who Bakes On The Brink Of Doom."

Asami huffs and folds her arms. "Thanks, but can we maybe stick with just Amateur Baker Asami?"

Tosi considers her request gravely. "No."

She throws her hands up. "I'm only on the brink of baking doom because _you_ thought making a cake for Korra was unworthy of you! And every other baker in the city couldn't manage anything good enough in time."

"No," Tosi snarls, arms waving. "I did not refuse to bake this cake because it was an unworthy challenge for me."

"Then... _why_?"

Tosi startles her by pouncing on her pile of rejected sponges. "Why make lemon cake, Extremely Ignorant Amateur Baker Asami Who Pouts While Baking On The Brink Of Increasingly Likely Doom?"

"Because...it was..." Asami stares into Tosi's eyes, and memories of her childhood flood her mind, sharp enough to cut. "It was what my mother used to make, to _her_ mother's recipe. I was too young to learn it, though. It's gone, now."

"Yes, that is why. And yes, it is gone," Tosi says, growling more softly. "But it is not forgotten. The...memory of the flavour, of the comfort it gave you...this is what you seek to bake for Korra."

"But I'm not! I'd love to, but I can't make it like my mother did." Asami stares around at the mess she's created. "I can't make anything _close_ to good enough at all. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong!"

"Amateur Baker Asami Who Yearns To Bake Correctly, hear me. It is the way of true baking to take the recipe that was passed down, and to make it your own. It is the way of true baking to recreate the _experience_ of eating the cake, not to merely copy the cake itself. True baking is...art. It is _alive_ , and ever growing, changing. New wonders are created by taking something good from the past..." Tosi holds up a hand. "And by desiring something better that will carry on, that can be passed on, into the future." Tosi holds up another hand, and spreads their remaining two. "Is that not how you mortals make a worthy present?"

"I didn't mean that kind of present." Asami pauses. "But...um, that's an interesting point."

Tosi moves through the debris in the kitchen, plucking ingredients and tools from different places. Tosi places the gathered items together carefully on a clear space near Asami. "All you have need of to make a cake for Baker Korra is here. And here." Tosi points to Asami's heart. "And here." Tosi gently pats Asami's head. "You are a very good part of Korra's past. You are that which she longs to carry into her future. _You_ are her present. So bake, now, without fear. You will not make the best cake that could be made, but it will be the best cake that could ever tell Baker Korra how loved and appreciated she is. No one else is worthy to bake such a cake for her. Not even Tosi."

"Oh...oh. How could I lose sight...?" Asami stares at Tosi. "The cake I make will be...worthy of her, even if it isn't the best. Because Korra doesn't need me to get her the best things. She needs me to give her _my_ best."

"Yes." Tosi steps back, eyes gleaming. "I will go. I...will take the cake that is now in the oven with me. None shall ever know of its oversalted horrors in this realm. Because I will destroy it. With fire. And an axe. And bury the remains in the realm of Lost Nightmares Whose Merest Fragments Might Shatter Mortal Sanity If Ever They Escaped The Sucking Mud And Chained Coffers That Enshroud Them."

"Oh," Asami says again, in a different tone. " _Thanks_."

Tosi inclines their head, snaps their fingers, and vanishes into the haze of heat that shimmers out of the now open oven door. Asami stoops and checks, and sure enough, the cake she prepared earlier is gone. She takes the baking tray out, sets it aside, and looks over the ingredients Tosi left her.

There isn't enough to make a large cake, but that's no longer Asami's goal. She closes her eyes, and thinks about her mother. She thinks about Korra.

Then she smiles, opens her eyes, and makes a cake.

* * *

Korra's in the living room, attending to the serious Avatar business of giving Naga belly rubs when Asami gets home. She leaves most of her things in her Satomobile, but she carries the cake with her in a small cardboard box.

"Hey, Asami," Korra says, grinning her crooked grin, and making Asami's heart leap. "You're home early! Which is...what's the word for the exact opposite of a complaint?"

"Hmm..." Asami sets the box down on a table, smiling when she sees Korra eyeing it curiously. "How about approval?"

"I approve the word, and I approve your being home, but I disapprove of you not having kissed me yet."

Asami laughs and quickly remedies that complaint, running her fingers through Korra's hair, resting her forehead against Korra's, letting the warmth and love of Korra sink into her skin. "Better?"

"Much. I think I'm about to approve snuggles and more kissing on the couch, too..."

"Motion seconded and carried." Asami crouches down and pets Naga, before she can register her own complaint at the lack of attention.

"Sooooo, I can't help but notice that you have what looks like flour in your hair," Korra says, quirking an eyebrow at Asami. "Aaaand there's a mysterious box over there..."

Asami nods, ruffling Naga's fur one last time. She stands up, collects the box, and hesitates. She bites her lip, and passes it to Korra. "Happy slightly early birthday. I...made you a cake."

"You did?" Korra's eyebrows shoot up. "Um, also...you know it's my birthday, huh?"

"Yes. I...can understand why you might be reluctant to celebrate it, but..."

Korra sighs, looking down at the box in her hands. "I should have said something sooner...sorry if I made you worry. I guess I just needed some time to...process it. The last few birthdays weren't celebrations, they were...reminders of how much time was slipping away. Ah..." She shakes her head, and looks up at Asami. "I, uh, I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow with you, though. If you're free?"

Asami rubs her neck. "Well...yes, I am. And so is...just about everyone else we know. I...may have arranged a surprise party for you. Surprise?"

"Oh. Oh, wow..." Korra stares into space for a second, and Asami waits, letting her work through whatever she needs to work through. Slowly, Korra begins to smile. "Yeah. Yeah, this year...this year I've got a lot to celebrate." She locks eyes with Asami. "Like...cake! I approve of this party!

"Don't celebrate the cake until you've tried it...but at least there'll be food from Zeki's at the party. With unlimited breadsticks for you."

Korra grins. "I have so much more approval for this party! That's a serious...approvement?" Korra shrugs. "Eh. Though when you say _unlimited_ , do you mean-"

"Not an infinite supply, but enough to keep even the Avatar happy. I hope."

"Well, speaking of making the Avatar happy..." Korra begins to pout and blinks her huge blue eyes at Asami. "Plates? Knife? Blanket? Cake, kisses, and snuggles time, please!"

And since it's her birthday--almost--Asami obliges. She brings a pair of forks with her, too, though she suspects Korra won't use hers. Asami sits beside Korra on the couch, and while Korra unfolds the blanket, Asami opens the box and cuts them each a piece of cake. The cake is a little lopsided, and it's slightly burned around one side, but Korra just rubs her hands in anticipation, and eagerly accepts her slice.

Asami watches, stomach churning, as Korra takes her first bite. She watches, as Korra closes her eyes and chews. She watches Korra slowly smile, and sigh.

Korra opens her eyes, and meets Asami's. "It's _so_ good. It tastes...happy. I love it, thank you."

Asami sighs, letting the tension drain out of her body. She tries the cake, and, if it doesn't taste much like the memory of her mother's, or anywhere near as good as anything Korra makes, Asami decides that if it makes Korra happy, it's more than good enough. It's perfect.

"You're very welcome. I love _you_ , Korra."

"Well, yeah," Korra says, grinning. "I mean, I'm adorable!"

Their evening ends, as more things should, with snuggles. And with cake, and kisses, and a polar bear dog, words of love, and the promise of even better days to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, folks! 
> 
> And thanks for everything, [Shannon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft)! (Have I mentioned she writes great fics? And that she named this series? And this series wouldn't be nearly the same without all of Shannon's input and suggestions? You should go read Shannon's fics, and show her some love in the comments, is what I'm saying!) 
> 
> I wish you all the best, and I hope you liked this fic, lopsided and burned round the edges though it may be.


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